sharke
For a real sounding bass part, I generally play it on my guitar, convert to MIDI with Melodyne, transpose down an octave and then fire up Trilian. So many amazing basses in there and if you get your head around the keyswitches you can make it sound very real. 

Is it the version of Melodyne that came with Sonar or an ungraded version?   

Mesh

sharke
For a real sounding bass part, I generally play it on my guitar, convert to MIDI with Melodyne, transpose down an octave and then fire up Trilian. So many amazing basses in there and if you get your head around the keyswitches you can make it sound very real. 

Is it the version of Melodyne that came with Sonar or an ungraded version?   

I've done this myself at times ......Melodyne Essentials ( what comes w SONAR ) does this very well
 
Kenny

Yes the midi idea is a great one for sure.  Don't forget that realism comes with what is actually being played. Guitarists tend to play bass a bit like a guitarist whereas a bass player tends to play bass much more like a bass player.  There is a difference. 
 
I play drums and keyboards and can create extremely realistic (sampled or synth) bass parts. But it is only because I have had the fortunate experience of having great bass players in my ear for the last 47 years!

I agree with Jeff that when you try to play a bass part on guitar, it has the tendency to come out like a guitar riff if you're not careful. Especially when you're trying to feel out or jam a bass part from scratch. There's something about having that guitar in your hand that makes you think like a guitarist (amazingly enough!). It works better if you can pretty much hear the bass part in your head first, then it's a matter of translating it to guitar. 
 
However, another Melodyne method that might work better for you is to hum the part into a mic and then have Melodyne convert that to MIDI. It's probably somewhat easier to get into that bass player "mindspace" when you're making bass noises with your mouth as opposed to trying to play a bass part on guitar. 
 
I have a crappy Logitech USB mic set up for quick and easy humming into Melodyne. You don't need high fidelity.  

Jeff Evans
Yes the midi idea is a great one for sure.  Don't forget that realism comes with what is actually being played. Guitarists tend to play bass a bit like a guitarist whereas a bass player tends to play bass much more like a bass player.  There is a difference. 
 
I play drums and keyboards and can create extremely realistic (sampled or synth) bass parts. But it is only because I have had the fortunate experience of having great bass players in my ear for the last 47 years!

Exactly!  A simple example would be that bass players often slide into notes because the distance between the frets are far greater than their hands can reach. 
 
I've played guitar for around 40 years, but bass only for the last 15 yrs.  It took a long while for me to learn to play like a bass player and not like a guitar player, playing the bass.

michaelhanson
Exactly!  A simple example would be that bass players often slide into notes because the distance between the frets are far greater than their hands can reach. 
 
I've played guitar for around 40 years, but bass only for the last 15 yrs.  It took a long while for me to learn to play like a bass player and not like a guitar player, playing the bass.

+1
 
A good example is one that drove me nuts trying to transcribe pre-Melodyne...the first 2 bass notes of Too Rich For My Blood by Patricia Barber (the YT below). Once I got Melodyne and got a look at the intro (and then going, duh, double basses are fretless), I saw that the first note was 50 cents sharp and the second note was 25 cents sharp, and then everything after dropped into the key of F. And if it's not played that way, it just doesn't work. Couldn't make that sound right with a bend on a guitar. Or a fretted bass, for that matter. Hard to do a slide out of a half tone bend into a quarter tone bend (me, anyway). But I've got it working now with OTS' CoreBass Pear!
 

batsbrew
i play a mikro.

Any downsides in playing the Mikro?
That bass looks like a good starting point........I really should go to the local Guitar Center and check it out. 
 
 

I guess I don't understand the point of the Mikro.  Why the need for a shorter scale?  You guys got little Trump hands or somethin'?  
 
 
 
 

In terms of playing style, the main point to remember about bass is that it's part of the *rhythm* section.

Anderton
In terms of playing style, the main point to remember about bass is that it's part of the *rhythm* section.

Don't tell us. Tell the three out of four bass players who think they are the main event.